


Of Ice and Fire

by ElrielforLife



Category: MAAS Sarah J. - Works, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Love Triangles, Multi, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-11-01 10:50:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17865854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElrielforLife/pseuds/ElrielforLife
Summary: Ever since Dorian and Manon parted ways, he has been kept busy enough not give it another thought. Politics and matters of state occupied a large portion of Dorian’s time. With Chaol and Yrene busy with their own livesf, it seems he is more lonely than usual. Prince Kashin comes to Rifthold with a proposal between the kingdoms and someone else from Dorian’s past. Manon makes her way to Rifthold after time spent away. Can everyone be the same? We have to see.





	1. Chapter 1

 

_ Dorian: _

He looked out from his royal balcony as he saw the onslaught of carriages that came his way. The Southern Continent prince is coming to visit. Chaol claimed that Kashin and Dorian will be quick friends, but the slight tension in his shoulders spoke of history between the prince and Chaol. When Dorian pointed it out, Chaol brushed it off saying they are  _ now  _ friends. Dorian wanted to know why they weren’t before. But he suspected Yrene had a role, so he kept quiet.

Trumpets were blared and pomposity ensured as the flamboyant prince exited the carriage. He certainly wasn’t bad looking, that was for sure. “An absolute honor, King Dorian”, drawled the prince. “The honor is mine”

“How is Erilea faring you Yrene” Kashin asked

“I am happy to be home”

“Was rifthold your home before? I thought you were from Fenharrow, if memory serves me correct.”

“I am here, so this is her new home”, interrupted Chaol

Dorian was insulted that Chaol though he shared a personality with the arrogant prince. Dorian had the brains to know what to say, clearly the prince was faulty. He couldn’t believe his bad luck, he is stuck negotiating with this fool for at least a few months. 

“Anyway, I can’t spot a certain beautiful witch queen” Kashin knew how to get on nerves, that was for sure.

“She is coming this afternoon” Dorian added

“Well, I am very excited, it’s not everyday one sees the most beautiful female”

Dorian gritted his teeth. He was excited and happy to see his Manon. They did end on an unfinished note. But, with the death of the Thirteen, he didn’t know what to expect. Maybe they could start where they left off and maybe even marry each other. Knowing Manon, that was highly unlikely. Who knows how her tastes changed over the period of time.

 

* * *

 

_ Manon: _

She rode hard towards Rifthold. A coven of witches behind her, protecting her. They were not her Thirteen though. She was too caught up in the battle to properly mourn their death, but now, it seems to cripple her every once in a while. Those crippling moments came when a certain someone wasn’t by her side. That brought a rare smile on her face and also a boatload of worries. Her princeling was waiting for her, hopelessly in love with her probably. But she didn’t care much for him anymore. He was a mortal she used to despise herself. She barely remembered him in following months. She doesn’t want to go and be his queen. She already has a kingdom, one she plans on making so much more than just a piece of land. 

She has dreams now, ones that doesn’t include him. She planned to go to Rifthold to squash his dreams early and creates plans for another type of alliance. She knows he is not cruel enough to hold himself to her. Not when there is someone else she grew to love, someone who makes her laugh, love, and live in a way she has never before. It was feat he accomplished through sharing  jokes, kisses, and dreams that no one else dared to show her. He didn’t fear her one bit, but she knew a hidden part of the princeling chose her because he knew he couldn’t love her with all of his heart. He saw darkness in her and decided to use it. He wasn’t what she was looking for, but she did find it, just not in Dorian.


	2. Chapter 2

_Manon_

 

She flew hard over the desert, eager to get to her destination. As soon as Abraxos touches the ground Manon leaps out running towards the man wearing a hood. The moment she hugs him it seems the world around her stopped as if the skies and the fauna wanted to bear witness to this rare occasion of Manon Blackbeak showing affection. They came to her more easily nowadays, probably because she found someone she wanted to be affectionate with and show a different side of her. Derek raised his head and smiled in that crooked way that was his alone.

“Missed me a lot did you now” his deep voice like music in her ears

“Just some nights when the witches would mention you”

“Then I should be hugging and greeting those witches don’t you think”

“Then they might or might not find themselves on missions to the other side of Erilea”

The banter was successful in diverting her attention from the matter at hand for only a few minutes before she remembered why she was actually here.

“I don’t know why you think Dorian will force me to marry him”

“He isn’t going to force you but we need him and Queen Aelin. We have land for a kingdom but we don’t have towns or cities. The Wastes aren’t going to be habitable anytime soon. It’s a lengthy process from what I have seen. The Wastes Manon, they are not going to be ready in even a century, it will take most likely a millenia. We live long, but not _that_ long”

Manon knew in her heart that he was right. She could try as hard as she could, but the Gods refuse to cooperate. The damage to the Wastes were tremendous, it will take nature a long time to correct itself, till then the witches need a home. The Steelheart warriors, Derek’s people need a home. A home that most likely only Dorian will trust her enough to provide. Queen Aelin respects and understands her in a weird sort of way, but she will never endanger Terrasen for Manon’s sake. After the promises she made to Dorian in that foolish letter, promises she most definitely broke, Dorian might not trust her motives.

“You told me he still loved that healer, we have to offer something he loves if he is to give us what we need.” Derek gently interrupted her thoughts to get her attention

“Yes, he won’t acknowledge it a lot but I have seen it. He thinks of her daily and that too not even realizing it. He dreams of world where she is his queen and strives to forget that dream everyday. That’s why he chose to love me, I am the opposite of his old lover, if he’s with me he will never have to remember her again”

“He sounds like a broken man”

“No, he’s not broken, just incomplete. I know the difference”

 

* * *

 

_Dorian_

 

As lays awake at night with no one to ask about his day, Dorian now realizes the true price a monarch pays when they are crowned, loneliness. Some like Aelin are lucky enough to have to pay that price, but others must, he is one of them. There is no one beside him everyday who he can tell all of his thoughts to, someone who listens, someone who won’t judge him or critique him. How could he have that someone, Dorian bitterly thought, that someone was snatched from him by the same person who went through what he is going through now, his father. He really misses Sorscha, there’s now a hole in his chest that seems to only be distracted but not filled. He hasn’t felt a lightness in soul in ages. She was the only one who made his worries and thoughts vanish, they weren’t supposed to be in love, no one would ever pair them together but the gods. They knew how well they fitted with each other, knew how she would die, and still made fall in love. Sometimes he wondered he should try to be someone he knows Sorscha can’t love, if that will help convince his heart to close the gap, because he just can’t take it anymore. He hurts too much all the time, some days he just wants to scream on top of his lungs. As if he doesn’t have enough problems, the court and Kashin is pressuring him to pick a bride from the Southern Continent or Wendlyn to ensure peace within the realm. All he ever wanted, truly wanted was to spend his life with the woman he loved, but it was snatched from him.

 

Manon was the only other ray of light he saw. His father changed him enough that now him and witchling were compatible. She understood the struggles of a crown and she could keep him company. Maybe that’s why he craved her presence so much. To finally be rid of this loneliness that plagued him. She was supposed to be here two weeks ago, but still there is no sign of her. She has to be here tomorrow though, all of the kingdoms that were part of the war of coming, the Witch Queen must also be present. Chaol was almost always with him but he has Yrene, Dorian doesn’t expect him to be the same. Dorian has found a sister in Yrene, she pulls his leg and laughs at him freely. That’s what having a sister is apparently supposed to be like, he loves it really, despite how annoyed he acts. He knows they are trying for a child again, five years after losing their first one. He would never forget the look that remained in the eyes of Yrene and Chaol for weeks following the miscarriage. It almost ripped their marriage apart but they emerged stronger than before. Dorian can only hope that he will find something similar.

 

* * *

 

_Derek_

 

His horses tried to keep pace with the wyverns above to make sure they reached Rifthold in time. He has heard about the King, and Derek would be lying if wasn’t slightly jealous of the way Manon spoke of him. Derek owes to Dorian for cracking the ice that was Manon which helped Derek get underneath all the ice and see the hidden Queen Manon Blackbeak. He knows that Manon hasn’t told the King that they were married and definitely not that they were expecting a child soon. Neither of them really wanted the child at the moment, with all worrying involving the living arrangements of the Witches and Warriors, but children are so rare in both their races that they couldn’t help ensure the best for that little life.

Childbirth of Warriors are always complicated and hard. He knows from what his sisters and mother had told him. It’s also rare enough that most couples have one child if any at all. He wasn’t going to turn away from this or shun it, as he viewed it he saw it as gift from the gods. He knew Manon is unsure but already loves the little life inside more than anything. That child is a beacon of hope, an assurance that the witches and warriors will rise again to go back to their lands and live there in as peace as there possibly can be. He can smell it on Manon and he knows the gift of immortality that the gods gifted Dorian and his Hand with will recognize the smell in an instant. There really is no way around with lying or otherwise.

He gripped the vial around his neck tightly knowing it was the only option to getting what they wanted. His horse came to a rest as they neared the city perimeters. He and Manon chose this day to reveal their bargaining chip because it was the 5th anniversary since the war had ended. All of the courts of Erilea and the courts of Wendlyn and the Southern Continent were also in attendance. Everyone would know who they were and what they brought with them.

“Are you ready?” Manon asked as they neared the palace gates

“As ready as I ever will be” he replied

He gave his horse to a stable boy and made his way through the palace walls. It was ginormous and gleaming. The stones were a light sandy gold that gave the palace a shimmer, despite that it seemed to be a cold and lonely place. He kept his head down and followed Manon to the throne room.

As soon as they entered he could feel the entire throne room stop whatever they were doing. Gasps and shaky breaths could be heard around the room. Everyone smelled it, especially Dorian Havilliard. He was good at concealing his emotions, Derek would him that but the slight tension and tight jaw revealed something else. Everyone was looking at Dorian and then at Manon and back and forth their gazes went. A slight icy chill filled the room as Dorian came forth.

“Manon I would believe congratulations are in order. You didn’t mention that you got married and are with child”

Manon stiffened at the mention of Peach, as Derek had nicknamed the baby, but she still remained tall as she said, “There problems we must discuss, my personal life does not interfere with it”

“What sort of problems? I would like to remind you we are celebrating the defeat of a problem today” anger and displeasure was radiating of Queen Aelin, she clearly is not fond of the heartache Manon had caused her friend.

“I know, and there is another we must solve before we actually have peace. Derek” she said nodding my way, “has seen the problem and is assured that your husband has as well, so I would want the courts to acknowledge his right to speak.”

“Well then permission granted, speak” drawled Dorian

Derek nodded and began “there is a hidden continent to the north of Erilea, I am sure those formerly in Maeve’s cadre knows about its existence” Derek saw them slowly nodding their heads. “That continent is locked away from the rest of the world, it has been since before the time of Mala and Brannon. The gods banished them when too many of them became almost as powerful as the gods. Many houses used ruled over the continent of Cerres in their own kingdoms, now there is only one house, House Cortana. They are ambitious, cutthroat, and each member of the house is richer than most kingdoms represented in this room. They are so powerful that even Maeve was afraid of them, they waited the war out, now they want to strike. They figured out a way to break the barrier and they plan on attacking soon. However, they are willing to negotiate and stay in their continent.”

Silence ensured around the room before Rowan interrupted, “They can’t rise, we will be decimated”

“How strong can they be?” Aelin asked

“Their powers surpassed the gods Aelin and you can’t trick them now. They are lords of tricks”

“They had already sent their first soldier to our land” Derek announced, “The healer Sorscha, she is a princess of House Cortana, the General of their Mage and Aeriel army, and the heir to the Queen’s throne in Cerres.”

“Princess-General Reyna was in Erilea for six years. That’s impossible, the cadre dueled with her three years before the war” Lorcan exclaimed

“She most likely took the place of a rebel spy in the palace.” Derek saw the shocked faces of Dorian and his Hand and added, “that’s why she is the one who proposed this negotiation. We all know who would win the war, but she is offering peace”

Dorian slowly looked up and Derek saw something spark in his eyes as he said, “Then let’s negotiate”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it. I probably won't continue unless I know it's being read. Plz comment with your thoughts.


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